We'll Do Just Fine
by artigiano
Summary: My response to the Cullen's BullPen Challenge. Enjoy!


**This is my response to Goldpiece's **"Cullen's Bull-Pen" **challenge. :) Need I say more?**

**Okay, wait! I do need to say more! I used the three phrases:**

You know I'd die for you, only sometimes it's hard living with you

Come back in an hour. I'll be crazy by then.

I couldn't help overhearing. I had my ear pressed to the door.

**They're bolded, and easy to spot. There, finally I've said it all:)**

* * *

"I can't believe you did that!" Temperance Brennan's voice was muffled through the doors of her office.

"What? What's wrong with that?" Booth answered, sounding incredulous. The rest of their conversation was cut off as the pair moved farther away from the door.

"Damn." Angela cursed quietly. Whatever Booth did had certainly pissed Brennan off. But now they were moving away, and Angela wouldn't get to hear the rest of their fight. After a few minutes of which she couldn't hear anything, the voices started to drift back her way. She strained to hear what they were saying.

"…can't talk to you right now! Get out!" That was Angela's cue to stand up and back away, or otherwise her best friend would find out that she had, indeed, been eavesdropping again. Just as soon as she had positioned herself carefully against the railing, Booth stormed out of Tempe's office, a furious expression on his face. Inwardly, Angela sighed, wondering what _this_ altercation had been about.

After waiting about the appropriate time- enough to ensure that Brennan wouldn't bite her head off for just stepping in the room- and knocked on the now closed door. "Sweetie?" She called out, her voice hopeful. Not getting an answer did deter Angela from her quest to find out the problem between the lovebirds.

Pushing open the door, she found Brennan with her hands in her hair, eyes already red from crying. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" The artist asked gently.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Please, just go away Ange. Please." Tempe's voice wavered, betraying the fact that she did in fact want Angela to stay. Her own mind was a dangerous place to be in right now, and a little human contact to take her mind off of Booth was just what she needed.

"Sweetie, just tell me what happened." Angela prodded.

"You don't already know?" Temperance asked wryly.

"Well…" She grinned a bit. "**I couldn't help overhearing**." Seeing the look of embarrassment upon Tempe's face she added sheepishly, "**I had my ear pressed to the door, **of course."

Temperance smiled slightly. "Why am I not surprised?" Suddenly, she thought of what Booth would say in this situation, and the tears started all over again. "Oh, Angela, I _really _messed up this time!" Angela remained silent, waiting for her friend to continue.

As she waited, Angela thought back to the time when Brennan and Booth had finally gotten it together, and gone on their first date. Everything had been perfect for the couple, and after a few months, Booth had asked Tempe to move in with him. Of course, they still had their fights, but their partnership still worked as smoothly as ever. Angela was happy for the both of them, and she hoped that whatever happened didn't have the strength to pull them apart.

Finally, Tempe found her voice, and spoke up. "Last night, Booth popped the question." She pulled a chain around her neck, and slipped the ring hanging on it onto her finger. "As you know, I don't really believe in marriage, but I love him so much," her voice cracked, "that I just had to say yes." She looked down at the ring with longing, and Angela wondered what had happened to cause her best friend's joy to be shattered.

"But Sweetie, that's great."

Tempe continued on as if she hadn't heard her best friend speak. "But then today rolled around, and things just spiraled out of control. He told people at the Bureau that we were getting married, but I hadn't wanted to tell anyone yet- I wanted to surprise everyone at Wong Fu's on Friday. I got so mad at him, and I told him that I wouldn't marry him if he made all the decisions for us in the marriage. I was so _stupid_! All he wanted to do was tell everyone how happy he was that I said yes, and I chewed him out for doing that.

"Anyway, what you heard was him telling me that if I couldn't handle being married to a pig-headed ass- my words, not his- than I could pack my stuff and leave. And then," she choked back a sob, "I-I told him to get out." She couldn't hold her composure any more, and finally broke down sobbing. Quickly, Angela circled around and pulled her best friend into a tight hug.

Angela tried not to laugh- the things they fought about! "Oh, Sweetie, he didn't mean it. I promise- he was just hurt that you didn't want to share the good news. I'm sure to him it felt like you didn't want anyone to know. He'll lick his wounds, and in two hours, I promise he'll call. Okay?" Tempe nodded feebly, but her eyes still held a despondent look. "Sweetie, you've got to trust me. Booth's just upset. He'll come around, I promise." After patting her friend's hand once more, Angela stood and made her leave. She knew that Tempe would need some time alone to sort through the mess that was currently her mind.

Shutting the door quietly, the artist jumped when someone grabbed her wrist, pulling her into her office. Lips quickly descended on hers, and she blinked back surprise at the sight of her boyfriend, Jack Hodgins. However, she wasn't quite in the frame of mind to be passionate, and so she pulled back.

Hodgins looked at her, a confused expression on his face. "I thought you loved making out in your office."

Angela laughed. "I do, but not right now- I'm kind of in a sour mood. That just comes from playing referee in the never-ending stream of fights between our favorite couple. **Come back in an hour. I'll be crazy by then." **

**

* * *

**

In two hours, Booth still hadn't called, and Temperance couldn't stand waiting around for him anymore. Just sitting there was torture to her, wondering where he was, what he was doing, and who he was with. After waging a small battle with her pride, she picked up her phone and dialed Booth's number. It rang, and rang, and rang, but no one answered. She dialed it again, and got the same outcome. She redialed at least five times with no answer. Finally, on the six try, he answered.

"Booth." His voice sounded weary and tired, and immediately Tempe felt bad again for all the pain she had caused.

"Seeley, it's me-"

He cut her off before she could continue. "Look, I really don't have time for this right now Temperance." She winced; he was calling her by her given name, something that was only reserved for very serious conversations, when they were in bed, or when they were in a fight. She knew the reason was undoubtedly the last. "I'm working, and I can't waste my time fighting anymore. Unless you have something important to say, then I'm hanging up."

Temperance calmed herself a bit before answering Booth's question- apparently Angela was wrong, and he wasn't in the least bit calm. "Meet me at home in an hour." That was all she managed to croak out before a wave of tears hit her, and she snapped her phone shut. She had an hour to prepare herself for what she knew would be a long night. .

* * *

Booth rubbed his face, cursing himself for being so harsh with his maybe-fiancé. She had probably been calling to apologize…He stopped the thought before it went any further. Temperance wouldn't apologize no matter what happened between them.

He looked to the clock, thinking how long he could linger around the office before Temperance's pull tugged him out of here.

* * *

She heard his car door slam before he rang the doorbell. Temperance calculated the seconds that it would take for him to walk up to the door, and positioned herself right in front of the door.

As she predicted, it took him exactly a minute to make his way to the house. As soon as he knocked, she pulled open the door. "Hi."

"What is this all about? I have work to do you know…" Booth stopped, knowing that they both knew that he didn't have any more important to do than be here.

"Follow me, please." That was all she said, and started to walk toward their bedroom.

"Bones…" Temperance took this as a good sign, him calling her by her nickname again. Either he was starting to forgive her, or just too tired to care.

When he finally went to the bedroom, Booth found her sitting on the bed. She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. "This is where you did it. This is where you proposed." Her voice was sad and tired, and for the millionth time that day, Booth wondered how she was feeling. "I didn't think you'd ever do it, frankly. Even though I don't- or didn't- believe in marriage, I was getting ready to propose myself." Temperance laughed a little, and to Booth it sounded sweeter than bells in the wind. "But that's just the thing- you've changed my mind on so many topics. I used to think that sex was just for recreation, but then…" She blushed a little, and Booth knew that she still wasn't use to expressing her feelings so outright. "And then you convinced me to move in; before you, I would have backed out of the relationship long before it got to this point. And like I said, you even changed my mind on marriage. I used to think it was something so horrible, and now I'm ready to be married tomorrow.

"You must have been so excited when I agreed to marry you, especially how I had been so adamant that I would never get married. I imagine when you went to work this morning, you couldn't keep the grin off your face. I'm guessing that people asked you what you were so happy about, and you just couldn't help but tell everyone that you had somehow managed to get Temperance Brennan to marry you. You probably felt like the luckiest man on earth, or at least that's what Angela told me." She took a deep breath before continuing her monologue.

"And then you came to the Jeffersonian, unaware that I was going to get mad at you for spreading the good news. You told me simply that Cullen wished us the best and I…" Temperance stopped, unable to continue. Guilt overwhelmed her, and grief for what she assumed was a broken engagement. She put her head in her hands, and sobs racked her body.

Immediately, Booth sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug. All thoughts of anger were gone at the sight of the woman he loved crying. "Shhh, it's okay."

"But it's not Seeley!" She looked at him, her tearstained face indignant. "It's not okay! Because I told you I wouldn't marry you, and that's the exact opposite of what I want!" She took another breath, calming herself. "When you didn't answer your phone this afternoon, all I could think was that something had happened to you, and that the last thing I would ever say to you was that I hated you. I-" She was hyperventilating, and so once again Booth pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Oh, Bones, **you know I'd die for you, only sometimes its hard living with you.**" He tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him. "I just needed some space. I saw you calling, and I didn't think that I could answer without saying something I didn't mean. But finally, I couldn't resist talking to you. There's just something about you that…I can't explain it."

They were both silent for a moment, and then Temperance spoke quietly. "It's like no matter how mad you get at the other person; you still have this urge to talk to them."

"Exactly. Temperance, I love you. And if you want me, I still have you." She looked up at him, and for the first time that afternoon, a true smile graced her face.

"Really?"

Booth laughed. "Of course! You didn't think that one measly fight would stop me from loving you, did you?"

Tempe grinned sheepishly. "Of course not," She lied. Booth laughed, and kissed her forehead. They sat together for a few moments, before she broke the silence. "Do you think we'll do okay; in life- in marriage- together?"

"We'll do just fine."

* * *

**I'd love for you to review:) Thanks!**

**Charlotte**


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